This application is directed generally to pinball games and specifically to a flipper assembly used in such games.
In a flipper game, the pinball is shot onto the pinball playfield which carries a number of targets of various kinds. Because of the incline of the playfield board, the ball falls toward the mouth of a chute. As the ball strikes or enters the various targets, points are added to the player's score. Once the ball reaches the chute, no additional points can be obtained by that ball.
To increase the time the ball is on the playfield board, pinball games commonly have one or more flippers located near the mouth of the chute. The flipper(s) is actuated by a button(s) accessible to the player. When the ball strikes the flipper, the player actuates the button, causing the flipper to kick the ball back up the playfield board to strike further targets and increase the player's score.
Lights and sounds seem to make a pinball more enjoyable for the players. In addition, illuminating the flipper itself improves the ability of the player to see it. In one pinball game that has been available in the marketplace, the flipper is illuminated in its rest position by means of a lamp located in the playfield board, which produces light that is directed upward and into the flipper. Esthetically, such a flipper is not particularly pleasing because when it is operated, the flipper pivots to a position where it is no longer aligned with the lamp and it then becomes dark.